The Beauty of the Oikumene Has Two Edges: Nurturing Roman Imperialism in the “Glocalizing” Traditions of the East

Tevdovski, Ljuben (2020) The Beauty of the Oikumene Has Two Edges: Nurturing Roman Imperialism in the “Glocalizing” Traditions of the East. In: Community and Identity at the Edges of the Classical World. Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ, USA, pp. 7-28.

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Abstract

The contemporary research of the Roman oikumene has been incrementally moving away from the traditionally dominant paradigms of authority and power, and leaning towards diversity, flux of identities and connectivity. However, these paradigm shifts haven't undermined the importance of the phenomenon of Roman imperialism - as global rule over the united word. In contrary, it provided a deeper understanding in the complexity of factors that influenced the process, and opened the way for new, less Eurocentric, analyses of the phenomenon.

This paper argues that the development of the Roman imperialism is embedded in the local identities, world views, aspirations, capacities and interests of the eastern-Mediterranean elites.

It emphasizes that the Roman interventions and gradual domination in the Eastern Mediterranean exposed Rome and later on different non-Mediterranean parts of Europe on plethora of influences of the extremely globalized world of the Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. The Eastern elites brought a colorful assortment of diverse expressions, rituals, traditions and narratives to the new Roman oikumene. However, the cultural and religious traditions of the eastern Mediterranean local elites were profoundly influenced and inspired by the specific Hellenistic amendments of the long-lasting Near-Eastern model of imperialism.

Thus, the local and increasingly localized identities of the Roman East shared and promoted the overall ideas of the global rule, and through their competition for materialization of their interests, aspirations and worldviews, they incrementally shaped the phenomenon, that we refer to as Roman imperialism.

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	Humanities > History and archaeology
Divisions:	Faculty of Educational Science
Depositing User:	Ljuben Tevdovski
Date Deposited:	19 May 2021 08:26
Last Modified:	19 May 2021 08:26
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/28104

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